Sevgi's Story


Q. During this time period (1963-1974), was there anything special that stands out in your mind about the media (radio, television, newspapers, etc.) or the way media was used in your family or by your friends?
During this time period we had many newspapers but we weren't able to buy them. But I remember that some of these newspapers were free and very rarely we found them somewhere and read them. These newspapers usually had the same aims. Their aim was to fight against ENOSIS and to defend our rights. I don`t remember the date but I remember that we had our own radio called "THE VOICE OF THE TURKISH CYPRIOT MUJAHEED" (Turkish Cypriot Freedom Fighter). For 24 hours a day we turned on our radio and listened to it.

Q. What were your thoughts or ideas or feelings or emotions at that time?
When I got a newspaper from somewhere I became a very happy person. Because I saw that somebody was trying to struggle against the Greeks and trying to defend our rights. This showed that we were not alone in our fight. Specially, to hear the voice of the Turkish mujahit from our radio gave us courage.

Q. Did these thoughts or ideas or feelings or emotions help you in any way?
As I told you, to read our own newspaper or to listen to our own radio gave us courage and we became furious to take our revenge. They helped me in this way.

Q. Were these thoughts or ideas or feelings or emotions a problem for you in any way?
When we heard the news about how many people were killed by Greeks, this was made us very sad.

Q. Did the media help you in any way at that time during this period.
With the help of the radio we learned where they [the Greeks] had come. Which village they last reached. With this help, we had a chance to prepare ourselves.

Q. Were the media a problem for you in any way at this time period?
The media were never a problem for us in any way at this time period.


DEMOGRAPHICS
Occupation (or life's work): Housewife.
Age: about 60.
Sex: Female.
Nationality: Turkish Cypriot.
Where now lives (country and city/town/village): Balikesir village.
Where lived during the events described during the interview: Balikesir village.
What was the occupation (or life's work) of the main income earner in the household when growing up: Father was a farmer. Husband was a soldier; income of their family came from the government.

This interview was conducted by Sibel
3 May 1996
For the previous page. "Use of Media"